Detective Chase and the Case of the Jewel Heart
by Neospector
Summary: Detective Chase is at it again! Join her in a whirlwind journey to discover the secrets of Maple World's couples! Adventure! Romance! Action! Nachos! And maybe the young detective can learn a little lesson on being too meddlesome in other people's lives, too.
1. Chapter 1

"This meeting of the Stellar Detectives will now come to order!"

Chase smacked her hands against the table as she said this. No one said anything.

Hayato coughed slightly.

"Excuse me? But why, exactly, are we here?" The samurai asked.

"Because all great detective agencies need a headquarters!" Chase announced.

"This is a restaurant, though-"

"They have delicious nachos!" Chase emphasized this by shoving a handful of said nachos into her mouth.

"That's…beside the point, really." Hayato continued. "I meant, why are we here, period?"

"Mmike mph mmmd!" Chase paused, then swallowed her food. "Like I said! This is a meeting of the Stellar Detectives!"

"I don't recall agreeing to join your group permanently." The Bladed Falcon leaned back in his seat, pressing into the padding of the booth.

"I have to agree with Hayato." Kanna, the purple-haired onmyouji said with a slight monotone. She took her cup of tea in both hands and raised it towards her lips. "While I appreciate the refreshment…" She nodded towards the cup. "…we never formally entered into a job arrangement with you."

Chase's ears twitched a little. "A-agent White Fan…"

"Kid…listen…I mean…" Jett, the orange-haired bounty hunter stuttered a little. She took a deep breath. "Chase, we all have stuff we need to do. The Galactic Authority has control of the PULSAR ship, and the Maple Alliance is handling the clones it spits out..." She almost added a "for now", but decided against it.

"I would love to bring my **BRUTAL FIST OF JUSTICE** down upon any opponents we might have…" Zen, the dragon warrior said. "But there aren't exactly any opponents here…" He paused. "Thank you for the food, however." He added before grabbing a chip from the nacho plate.

"Agent Ironsight…Agent Dragonfury…" Chase looked downcast now.

"We have names too, you know!" Hayato snapped. "Hayato, Kanna...Jett, and Zen, wasn't it?" The bounty hunter nodded a "yes".

Chase sat down and sniffled a little.

"Awah…wait, don't cry." Hayato waved his hands around a little. "I-I didn't mean to make you sad!"

"Perhaps you should stop talking now, Hayato." Kanna advised. Hayato did what he was told and quietly sipped his water.

"Kid…Chase…" Jett put a hand on the sniffling girl's shoulder. "It's not that we don't want to be with you or anything. Like Zen… _ahem_ …'Agent Dragonfury' said, if there's anyone who threatens you or if there was a mystery that needed to be solved…" Jett glanced to Zen. The dragon warrior nodded rapidly. "…we'd be happy…no, we'd come running to your side in an instant."

Chase looked up and wiped her eyes. "But, there is a mystery."

Jett looked startled. "There…there is?"

"Yes!" Chase took a deep breath. "I want to investigate…dun-dun-dundun! Maple World's couples!"

Hayato spat out his drink. Zen covered the nacho plate from the spray defensively.

"C-couples?!" The samurai choked out. "You-you…you brought us out here to talk about _couples_?!"

Kanna tugged at her hair ribbon. "Perhaps…is there something wrong with Maple World's couples?"

"Well, not necessarily…" The animal-eared girl started.

"Couples…" Hayato leaned his head back in astonishment, as well as a touch of exasperation.

"What are we investigating, if there's nothing wrong, then?" The onmyouji continued.

"J-just how they work together, and…and…and pairs that aren't couples but totally should confess alread-"

"But we can't investigate if there's no case, and there can't be a case unless something's wrong."

"N-no! Wait, see, there's this…client! And she asked me to…"

"What's this client's name?"

"W-well, I don't want to violate her, um, privacy! So, let's just call her, 'Ms. Anima-'"

"It's you, isn't it?"

"W-what?! Noooooooo! O-of course not! Don't be silly!" Chase grabbed her glass of soda pop and sipped through the straw, her cheeks turning a light shade of red.

"Couples!" Hayato bemoaned.

Jett rolled her eyes. "Chase…the rest of us have…stuff to do! You know…" Jett waved her arms a little for emphasis. "I still have to go clear my name, Hayato and Kanna are defending Momijigaoka, Zen is doing his vengeance thing…"

"MAHPH OPHFONENTST WIFL TAFTE MAHPH FIFTH OFF **HUSTIF**!" The dragon warrior proclaimed through a mouth full of chips and guacamole.

"…yes, that." The bounty hunter continued. "And we'd all love to help you…"

"You're not going to help, are you?" Chase frowned.

"Well, no…because…because, well, obviously you don't need us!"

This was met with a chorus of "huh?"

"T-think about it! You're the greatest detective in the whole world! The whole maple-y world! The great Detective Chase!" Jett continued. "You were investigating Tutu before any of us got involved!"

"Wait, that's not riII-OW!" Hayato grabbed at his gut where Kanna's elbow had connected.

"Obviously…" The orange-haired girl smiled. "…obviously such an investigation is a piece of cake for an expert detective such as yourself!"

"R-really? But…I…you really think so?"

"Of course!" Jett stood up and walked over, putting her arm around Chase's shoulders. "You're a great detective! The _greatest_ there is!"

"I…I don't know…"

"Besides, what kind of couple would like to have five people following them around, y'know? One person is far, far less conspicuous than five! We'd just slow you down!"

"I…never thought of it that way…"

"Look, I will start you out with a tip though. Why don't you go and talk to that new kid from that city-place…what was it…Seal? Sell? Sale?"

"Seoul." Kanna corrected. "The student from Seoul, Korea, he comes from another world. He calls himself, 'Kinesis'. I don't know his real name."

"Yes! Seoul! That's the name! See, I heard he's got himself a girlfriend in that other world of his, and I also heard he's taking her over here soon to check out some of Maple World's sights! That'd be a perfect place to start your investigation!"

"Kin-ee-sis" Chase sounded the name out. "Do…do you think I can learn a lot about couples from him?"

"Yes! Of course!" Jett grinned.

' _Although I don't know what it is you're trying to learn, exactly…_ ' She thought.

Chase jumped up. "Yes! That's perfect, Agent Ironsight! I, the great Detective Chase shall go undercover! I shall uncover the secrets of Maple World's couples!"

"It's settled then! You'll go bothe- _investigate_ the two of them!" Jett motioned away from the table. "Waiter! Check please!"

Zen made a muffled sound.

"Yes, and one to-go box, please!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Bum-da-da-dum _da_ -dum _da_ -dum~!" Chase hummed to herself as she darted behind a bush. She peeked out a moment later to catch a glimpse of her unsuspecting targets.

Two teenagers, both about 18 years old, walked slowly through Cloud Park. The boy, who had wild dark hair and pale blue eyes that seemed almost silver, was smiling and chuckling to himself. The girl, who had purple hair with a ribbon tied on the left side, stared with a slight mixture of awe and fear at everything around her.

"…c-clouds! W-w-we're w-walking on the c-clouds!" She sputtered out something similar every now and then.

"Yeah, pretty cool, isn't it?" The boy agreed.

"B-but what if we fall?!"

"Then I'll catch you, of course." The boy smiled. "You can use your wind powers to steer us back to the ground."

"S-stupid! I-I-I don't know how to do this magic stuff anyway! I'm not ready!"

"It doesn't matter to me if you're ready, you're always the wind beneath my wings."

"S-stupid! Idiot! Stupid!" The girl flushed bright crimson.

Chase hastily scribbled down the boy's lines in her notebook.

"Wind beneath my wings…" Chase muttered to herself. "Wow! Sho kyute!"

"I'm glad you liked it."

Chase jumped and let out a yelp. She scrambled back from the couple who had appeared over her. He smiled warmly while the girl crossed her arms and glared, still blushing. The boy knelt down and rested his hands on his chin.

"I'm sorry if I scared you…" he began. "…just, you seemed to be having a lot of fun following us, was all."

"Y-you were following us?!" The girl sputtered, both embarrassed and angry. "No! Wait! Why does she have animal ears?!"

"Me? Following? You? Noooooo! O-of course I wasn't!" Chase looked away from the two. "I-I-I mean…there was this…um…pixie! And…um…it, well, stole my favorite crayo-"

"She's been following us since we landed in Orbis." The boy clarified. "You might not have noticed; you were a bit…green."

"I…I get seasick, ok?!"

"We were flying."

"Flying in a boat!" The girl huffed. She turned her attention to the animal-eared detective. "T-that doesn't matter, why were you following us?!"

"I…I…I…!" Chase began to panic.

"Oh Yuna, it's ok. Don't yell at the poor girl." The boy stood up and patted the girl on the shoulder, before addressing Chase. "This feisty cutie is Yuna, my beautiful girlfriend."

Any ounce of anger Yuna had was either converted to blood in her cheeks or redirected towards her boyfriend. "S-Stupid! W-why did you call me 'cute'?!"

"…and you can call me Kinesis, or 'K' for short."

Chase sat up, cautiously. "That…doesn't sound like your real name."

Kinesis smiled. "It's not, it's my superhero name."

"So…" Chase glanced at Yuna. "Your superhero name is 'Yuna'?"

"Of course not!" Yuna snapped. "'Yuna' is my real name! And his is- "

"We tried giving her a superhero name…" Kinesis interrupted. "…but she didn't go for any of them. Not even 'Gale Girl'."

"Can we please get back to the topic at hand?!" Yuna yelled.

"You know it doesn't matter what you call yourself, you will always be my Yuna."

"I…! You…! You…!" Yuna did her best to swallow her embarrassment. She turned to face Chase. "Why were you following us?!"

Chase's ears drooped and her tail curled between her legs. "I…I…"

"It's ok." Kinesis walked forward and placed his hand on the shivering girl's head and started to rub between her ears. "Calm down, we're not mad, ok?"

Chase's tail started to wag a little. "I…I was investigating you."

"Investigating?" Kinesis looked confused. "Investigating what?"

"W-well, I've been investigating Maple World's couples, you see!" Chase looked away, somewhat embarrassed. "Jett- she's this really cool bounty hunter from outer space- Jett told me that you guys were a really good couple, and that I should start my investigation with you guys."

"I'm flattered that this 'Jett' thought we were a good enough couple for you to learn something from." Kinesis smiled. "Are you trying to impress a boy of your own? Or a girl? I don't judge, really…"

Chase shook her head. "There's no one…I think...I…I just kind of wanted to know."

"And what brought this on? Maybe someone you know got together?"

Chase perked up at this. "Y-yes! Actually, there were two people! Their names are Kyle and Tear and they were friends since forever and during a trip to the hot springs they confessed and fell in love and probably kissed- oh gosh and also Tear turned out to be the Angelic Buster and-and-!"

"Wait, wait, slow down!" Yuna knelt down next to her boyfriend. "You wanted to learn about couples because your friends became a couple?"

"I…guess…yes!" Chase stood up and dramatically put her hands on her hips. "And because I'm the greatest detective in the world! The great Detective Chase! Ba-da-da-da-dum~!"

"Detective…" Kinesis thought for a moment. "I see. Well then, great Detective Chase, what have you learned from us?"

"Wait, what?!" Yuna flushed red.

"Well…" the detective started. "You like to say stuff that makes Yuna embarrassed!"

"Hey!"

"Nice one, Chase. Now, can you guess why?"

"Um…" Chase thought hard for a moment, then something clicked. "Because you think she's cute when she's embarrassed?"

"Ding~ding! Yup!" Kinesis grinned wildly. "Yuna is cute all the time, but she's cutest when she's embarrassed."

"You…! Stupid…! You…!" Yuna turned as red as a ruby. She slumped to the ground and put her hands in her face, feeling defeated and occasionally mumbling "Idiot" under her breath.

"But that's just me, right?" Kinesis continued. The gifted student stood up and walked behind his girlfriend, putting both hands on the girl's shoulders. "Not everyone shows their love the same way."

He wheeled around and reached into the bush Chase had been hiding behind, he pulled out a small white flower that had been blooming just out of sight: a mock-orange flower. Then he walked a short distance, and plucked a small daisy out of a nearby flowerbed before returning to his original spot.

"One couple expresses their love in one way…" He explained as he expertly weaved the flower's stem into Yuna's hair, next to her ribbon. "…another person may show love in a different way. They may seem similar at first…" He sniffed at the daisy. "…and both are definitely expressing love, but their differences are what make them unique."

Kinesis wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and rested his head on her own. "I love Yuna more than anything…" Yuna pressed her face further into her hands, although her hands flushed red in place of her cheeks so it was a rather pointless gesture. "…and I'm sure Tear and Kyle love each other too, but studying us won't help you learn about them."

"That's it!" Chase cried out suddenly, causing Kinesis to stare at her in surprise and for Yuna to unbury her face from her hands. "That's my second clue! The great Detective Chase is off to investigate her two lead suspects! Tear! Kyle! Prepare yourselves! Cause she's the greatest detective in the whooooole maple-y woooorld ba-da-da-dum~!" Chase skipped off, humming her tune.

Kinesis frowned as the girl hop-scotched away. "I…still had more to say."

"Well, serves you right!" Yuna brushed Kinesis off and stood up, mindlessly fixing the flower the ESPer had tucked into her hair. "Saying all those stupid things, and in front of another person too!" She started to walk away.

Kinesis grabbed her by the hand and spun her around so that her face came within a foot of his. He held the daisy up between them, then stuck the flower into her hair to match the mock-orange.

"You know I meant everything I said, though."

"S-stupid!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chase had put on a disguise.

Sunglasses? Check. Hat? Check. Jacket? Check. Everything she needed to continue her investigation. She had also bought a bucket of popcorn.

She had followed Kyle and Tear to a movie theater in New Leaf City, and stealthily seated herself in the row behind them a few seats away. She leaned a bit closer to listen to their conversation.

"…and then when he bent down, his pants tore!"

"No way!"

"Yes way!" Kyle pantomimed the situation. "You could hear them tearing, like RIIIIIIIIP, and Aran started laughing like crazy!"

"No way, no way!" Tear laughed. "What did he do?"

"He high-tailed it out of there of course! Teleported away! Then he came back like, five minutes later and was all 'if you tell anyone about this, especially that idiot light mage, I will end you!', and Aran was just laughing so hard she fell on the floor!"

"That's hilarious!" Tear giggled. "But, aren't you worried he'll actually go after you?"

"No way, I told everyone I met today about his little 'accident', if he does go after me it's just going to confirm their suspicions!"

"That's- _snirk_ \- that's hilarious! Too funny! Ok, my turn now…so I was talking with Neinheart in Ereve the other day…"

"Phantom split his pants…classic!" Chase mumbled as she jotted the story down in her notebook. She then frowned.

This didn't sound like a date. Where was the flirting? And the kissing? This was supposed to be a date, so where was the flirting and kissing?

'Oh well…' Chase thought to herself. 'Maybe they're saving it for the movie, I bet it's super romant-'

"Chase? Is that you?"

Chase jumped in her seat, almost spilling her popcorn. Her gaze drifted over to meet the eyes of Kyle, who was leaning over the back of his seat. Tear was beside him, doing the same.

Chase panicked. "Wha-! Who-! Me? Noooooo!" She adjusted her sunglasses. "My name is-" She coughed and adjusted her voice to be a little deeper. "-my name is Stephan Speilbottom…"

"Chase, your tail is sticking out of your seat." Kyle pointed at the fluffy appendage.

Chase stared at her tail, which was indeed completely visible beside her right thigh. She wagged it experimentally.

"Um…ok, this isn't what it looks like."

"What it looks like?" Tear asked, looking confused. "Why? What were you doing?"

"Er…that is…I…"

"And what's with the wacky outfit?" Kyle asked. "Why are you wearing sunglasses indoors? In a movie theater, at that. Are you ok? Did something happen to your eye-"

"I-I wasn't following you for anything bad! I promise!"

"Following?" Kyle looked even more confused. "You were following us?"

"Urk-! I-I mean-!" The girl sighed. "…yes."

"Why?" Asked Tear.

"U-um…w-well, see…"

"Hey, come on down here and sit next to us, plenty of room!" Kyle patted the seat to his left.

Chase looked startled "W-what? Wont that be…a bother?"

"Why would it? Come on!"

* * *

A moment later the three were seated next to each other. Tear had confiscated Chase's popcorn and had started munching on it.

"…so you got to meet that Kinesis guy and his girlfriend?" Asked Kyle. "What were they like?"

"W-well, he was super cool, and she was…wait, that's not the point! Why aren't you guys doing couple stuff?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Tear, shoving another handful of popcorn into her mouth.

"L-like…um…y'know…" Chase mumbled something.

"Huh? I didn't catch that sorry."

"I-I asked why you guys aren't kissing!" Exclaimed Chase, a bit too loudly.

It took a moment to register on the young Novas' faces. The two turned bright pink almost immediately, and Tear choked on her popcorn.

"K-kissing?!" The orange-haired girl stuttered out. "T-that's a bit-! Um-!"

"P-personal…" The blue-haired boy finished, looking at his lap.

"B-but you guys are a couple now! Shouldn't you guys be doing couple-y things on your d…d…da…"

"Date?!" Tear flushed red. "W-wait, this is a d-d-date? I-I didn't-! I-I mean-!"

"N-no no! Wait, Chase, it's not a- no, I mean, just because it is a- oh geez…" Kyle took a deep breath. "Chase, just because we are dating doesn't mean we do that stuff all the time."

"Why not?" Asked the animal-eared girl.

"B-because…um…well…" Kyle leaned in to his girlfriend and whispered to her. "T-Tear, help me out a little!"

Tear's cheeks were as red as a beet, but she took a deep breath and tried her best. "C-Chase, it's good to do flirty stuff- not that I want to…or DO! Do want to! But, not all the time, like-!"

"B-because we're friends first!" Kyle managed.

"E-exactly!" Tear nodded. "J-just because we're d-d-d-dat…ing…doesn't mean we can't have fun together like we used to!"

"Oh…" A lightbulb seemed to go off in Chase's head. "So…basically…you act normal around each other, and that's proof that you love each other, right?"

"Y-yeah!" Kyle nodded furiously. "S-something…like that…I think…"

"I see! I see!" Chase scribbled something in her notebook. "O-oh! S-sorry for interrupting your date…I…um…"

"N-no! I-it's ok!" Tear took another deep breath, in and out. She smiled at Chase. "It's ok. You can watch the movie with us if you want, but in return, you have to buy us more popcorn!" Tear patted the empty bucket.

"W-what?" Chase looked started. "Y-you mean it? I won't be in the way? Even though it'll be so romantic?"

Kyle and Tear simply looked confused.

"Romantic?" Kyle ventured.

"Yeah! The obvious thing to watch on a date is a super romantic movie, right?" Chase grinned.

"Uh…" Kyle started. "Chase…I…don't know what to tell you, but…um…this isn't a romance movie…"

Now it was Chase's turn to be confused.

"It's that super-cool zombie flick everyone's talking about!" Tear beamed. "The one that got a super-high rating for its super-realistic special effects! He dared me to watch it all the way through…" Tear pointed at Kyle. "…so I dared him back! First one to leave the theater has to treat the other one to lunch!"

Chase's face was drained of all its color, her tail curled closer to her body and her ears twitched down. "Z-zombie…scary...?"

"Yeah! Come on!" Tear grinned. "It'll be fun!" The theater darkened. Tear held out the bucket. "Hurry and get the popcorn while the trailers are going! I heard the first scene is killer! Literally!"

Chase limply grabbed the bucket.

"U-um…I…um…"

"Don't worry, this girl acts tough but she sucks at horror stuff!" Kyle shook Tear's shoulder playfully. "Anything you want is on her after this!"

"Oh yeah? Just you watch me!"

The two Novas smiled at the animal-eared girl. Chase looked back and forth between the couple for a while.

"P…popcorn…o-on it…" She gave a weak smile.

Chase wobbled her way out to the lobby.


	4. Chapter 4

Chase clutched her stomach on the train ride back to Kerning City.

She had, through sheer luck, won the competition between her, Tear, and Kyle for two big reasons:

First, Kyle had a weak bladder.

Second, Chase had been too paralyzed with fear to even move.

She sighed. She was an Explorer! Part of the Maple Alliance! She had fought off countless bad guys! She had fought in a war for crying out loud!

Well, a war against a mostly android army. But that still counts.

Regardless, she had managed to slip away from the Nova couple while they were in line to order the celebratory lunch, bought and paid for by Kyle. Chase half-wondered if she was being rude by walking out on them.

No, more importantly than that, she hadn't learned anything useful at all! First Kinesis tells her that couples act all flirty, then Tear and Kyle tell her that couples don't act all flirty. It made no sense!

" _Now arriving at: Kerning City station_ " The subway announcer voice chimed as the train car screeched to a halt. The various people who were riding the train gathered up their belongings; coats, bags, assorted spears, bows, and wands…Chase managed to squeeze herself in between a warrior with a small sword strapped to her hip and a rather stern businessman clutching a briefcase before darting out the doors as they opened.

As she climbed up the steps the ceiling fell away to reveal the dusty skyline of Kerning City. Normally the shadowy figures of thieves could be seen darting in and out of various buildings, practicing stealth. Today, however, the city was fairly quiet, as if everyone simply decided to take a nice summer nap, only waking up to realize they had slept through the entire day before just saying "screw it" and ordering a pizza for dinner. Chase's stomach rumbled.

She briefly wondered if she could still catch the train back to New Leaf City in time for Kyle and Tear to treat her to dinner, but was interrupted by some muffled voices. Curiously, she peeked around the corner of the nearest building, and spotted two explorers. There was a girl with shiny, purple-tinted hair, wearing a red Armis and holding a white Nisrock bow. And there was a boy with blue-green hair, wearing a Dark Burglar hat. They were arguing about something.

"…or the last time, Olive: You. Can. Not. Touch. Them." The boy stamped his foot to make his point.

"Aw come on, just a little?" The girl, Olive, cooed. "They wook so fwuffy!"

"Quit making fun of them!"

"Rondo, you're no fun…"

The boy, Rondo, huffed. "I don't like people touching my ears. Do I look like a puppy-dog to you?"

"A little, yeah."

"HEY!"

"I tell it like it is." Olive shrugged. "And you look like a puppy." She made a begging motion with her hands and started going "Arf! Arf!"

"Cut that out!"

"Make me!" She stuck out her tongue.

Chase stared at the two from behind her wall. She had seen them before, briefly, and she knew they were part of the Maple Alliance. They were friends of that explorer guy who had fought Lotus on the Black Heaven.

"What are those two idiots arguing about now?" Sighed the explorer guy who had fought Lotus on the Black Heaven, who had appeared next to Chase while she had been watching the two.

Chase mumbled a response before the realization set in. She leapt back and nearly tripped over a rainspout. The explorer caught her hand before she fell completely.

"You ok?" He asked.

"F-fine, thanks…" Chase said. She regained her balanced and let go of his hand to brush off her blouse. "Don't startle me like that, though! You nearly blew my cover!"

"Cover? Sorry, I guess."

"Ehh, it's ok. So…um…"

"Yuuki."

"Yuuki! Sorry. So, what are those guys arguing about?" Chase gestured to the pair, who were still arguing about something Chase didn't understand.

"Those two?" Yuuki shrugged. "Could be anything. They argue about the littlest things. They've never really gotten along, they're like oil and water."

"Huh." Chase stared at the two.

"I mean, at one point Rondo was trying to arrest Olive." Yuuki continued. "Tess once joked that there might be something between the two, but they're just way too different."

"Uh-huh." Chase nodded quietly while the warrior kept talking.

"Like this one time, we were all eating some songpyeon…"

Chase snapped to attention. "Wait, what did you say?!"

"Uh, songpyeon, it's like a rice cake with…"

"No, not that!" Chase said, suppressing her growling stomach. "You said there was something between the two of them?!"

"Well, no, that was a joke Tess-"

"Eehehehehe!" Chase giggled and wagged her tail. "Like Tear and Kyle, gotta get them together!"

"Um, I don't think that's such a good-"

"Matchmaker~! Matchmaker~!" Chase hummed. She took out her whistle and blew, as quietly as she could. She thought of Eka, and so she appeared in a discrete flash of light.

"You called?" Asked the pink hawk.

"Eka! I need you to sneak up behind those two…" She gestured at the pair still arguing about something pointless. "And blast the guy with the strongest wind gust you can muster, enough to push the two of them together!" Chase giggled and bounced up and down.

"W-wait, this really isn't such a-" Yuuki started.

"Oh!" Interrupted Chase. "But be sneaky about it! Nothing too suspicious and nothing hurty!"

"Why am I doing this?" The hawk sighed. "Ehh, if it makes you happy, then, whatever." Eka flapped her wings and took off into the sky. Chase peeked from behind the corner.

"Chase, wait, stop for a-"

"Shhh!" She waved her hand to dismiss him. From an alley across the way, Chase could make out a large, shadowy figure. The figure raised two apendages, and brought them back down.

The alley was accosted by a gigantic blast of wind, which seemed to be amplified by the narrowness of everything in the city. The visible mini-storm roared through towards the pair with astonishing speed, and plowed right into the back of the boy. In a single, smooth movement, Rondo lost his balance and fell forward. He reached out his arms to catch something to break his fall. At the same time, Olive raiser her hands in self-defense from the falling thief. The two hit the ground with simultaneous "oofs". What remained of the gigantic windstorm rocketed out through any exit the pressure could find. Both Chase and Yuuki covered their faces as they were hit with the remaining strength of the gale.

When the wind died down, Chase peeked out from behind the wall, as did Yuuki. Chase saw Eka disappear in a small flash, and then glanced at the pair on the ground. Rondo had landed on top, while Olive had landed on her back.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow!" Olive complained, clutching the back of her head. "Ow!"

"Urrrgh…what hit us…?" Rondo struggled a little to get up.

"Ow! Quit elbowing me!" Olive shoved the thief off of her and to the side. She looked around for her bow and when she found it, she quickly grabbed it, pulled an arrow out of nowhere, and notched it, pointing at anything and everything.

Rondo took an equally defensive stance, pulling two throwing knives and warily looking around the alley.

"Who's there?" He ventured.

"Come out so I can turn you into a pincushion!" Shouted Olive.

"T-that…didn't work…" Chase looked crestfallen.

She was startled by one of Rondo's throwing knives flying inches from her face. She immediately jumped back behind the wall.

"I know you're there!" Shouted the thief. "I can hear you! Both of you!"

"You wanna fight, you coward? I'll give you a fight!" Olive pointed her bow in the same direction and began muttering the enchantment for Flame Surge.

A panicked Chase glanced over at Yuuki, who mouthed to her:

" _Run._ "

She nodded furiously, then took off as fast as her legs would carry her.


	5. Chapter 5

Chase kept running. She didn't know how long she had been running, but it felt like the streets of Kerning City had been going on forever and ever. She dodged the occasional wanderer every now and then, but still kept running. She didn't even know which direction she was going in; was she going towards the island's center? Towards the swamps? The coast? Perion? Didn't really matter, so she kept running.

Chase immediately slid and stumbled to a halt and bolted left. She dove head-first into nearby phone booth, reached back, and slammed the door tight. She sat there panting for a few minutes, before shifting into a sitting position with her hands in between her knees. The yellow light of the booth illuminated the dirty windows, which were impossible to see clearly through due to years of grime and general fogginess. The floor was caked with dirt and dust, but dry. Chase set her head on her knees and let out a choked-out sob.

It just wasn't fair! She tried doing her best, why didn't it work? It should have worked. It just wasn't fair!

And now she had abandoned someone to the mercy of a crazy thief/bowman duo convinced that someone was attacking them. Not her proudest moment.

"But it should have worked..." She mumbled, quietly.

Chase sat there for a while, she didn't know how long exactly. She felt like she was on the verge of crying, but for some reason the tears just wouldn't flow. Guilt; it felt like a weight in her heart, not sad like saddness, just a really lousy feeling, as if she had swallowed a large stone that wasn't quite solid, and it had gotten lodged somewhere in between her lung and her lower intestine, like a big ball of weighted rubber.

She was interrupted from her thoughts by a loud knock at the door. Outside of the glass door, Chase could make out a gigantic figure. She tried to muscle up the effort to shout "occupied", but found that her voice just didn't work, instead she let out a low-pitched squeak that sounded like a kitten with a sore throat. The figure reached over, and yanked at the door, to reveal a perfectly healthy (if slightly bruised) Yuuki.

Chase gaped and tried to find her voice, but failed. Yuuki stared back for about a second.

"Chase!" He shouted. He knelt down in front of the girl. "Are you alright? We've been looking everywhere for you."

Chase stared blankly.

"I managed to get Olive and Rondo calmed down. We're at the diner over on the far side of the alleyway."

Chase opened her mouth, then closed it again.

"We're at the diner because, well, we were talking and we heard someone coming. See, it turned out to be that new kid, Kinesis, and his girlfriend and they were with those Nova kids also..."

Yuuki continued to butcher a short analysis of how everyone was now off getting burgers.

"...and so now they went to go get a table and I went off to go look for you. Well, first I was going to go to the thieves guild, but then I noticed your ears inside the booth and...well...here we are." Yuuki finished.

There was a short silence.

"Well?" Yuuki held out his hand politely and smiled. "Let's go."

Chase slowly took his hand and tried to say something, but only succeeded in letting out "Wuh?"

* * *

A small bell let out a ring as Yuuki and Chase walked through the front door of the diner. Chase didn't so much walk, as she was tugged along by Yuuki.

"There you idiots are!" Olive shouted. The archer girl waved to the warrior and the beast tamer, and pointed down at several chairs surrounding a round table tucked into the corner of the restaurant. Olive sat in the very back, and to her left sat Rondo, who was boredly trying to turn one of his throwing stars into a top. To Rondo's left sat Kinesis, wearing a perpetual smirk as he sipped a glass of water. Next to Kinesis sat Yuna, who sat there wearing an expression that said something along the lines of "I'm in a different world, why is there a house salad on the menu?" Next to Yuna sat Kyle, who must have been talking to Tear as he was the only one who didn't look bored. Tear herself sat to the right of Olive, and wore the same expression as Kyle.

Yuuki walked over to the booth with Chase trudging behind. She felt like dying from guilt and embarrasment right now. Yuuki let go of Chase's hand and took the chair to the right of Tear, leaving Chase the one directly in front. She didn't sit down for a moment.

"You know, if you don't sit, the waitress won't take our order..." Mumbled Rondo. "I'm starved."

"You're always starved." Commented Olive.

"I'm going to get the deluxe bacon burger!" Announced Tear.

"I just treated you to dinner thanks to that stupid bet..." Said Kyle.

"Never turn down free food!" Tear patted her stomach.

"If you eat that much you're going to get fat." Yuna said, conescendingly.

"Maybe you can give her some dieting tips, Yuna." Kinesis commented with a grin.

"W-what?!" Yuna huffed. "Shut up you moron!"

"I have a high metabolism." Tear ventured.

"Yeah, but what good is a chubby suuuu-per girlfriend whom I love very much?" Kyle had managed to catch himself before spilling Tear's secret, but the insult still went through.

"Yuna, please hit him for me." Tear grumbled. The purple-haired human complied by slapping the Nova boy on the back of his head. Olive made a whiplash sound effect, and Rondo snorted out a laugh.

"How vulgar." Yuna made a face. "Shouldn't you two act more ladyli-"

"I'M SORRY!" Chase shouted.

The people sitting at the table simply stared blankly at her. There was a moment of silence.

"Um, eh? S-sorry for what?" Yuna ventured.

"Eh?! Ah! Oh!" Chase caught herself. "N-not you, Yuna...I-I'm sorry for w-what I did to Olive and Rondo."

"Oh, that?" Rondo tossed his throwing star up in the air, catching it expertly. "That was nothing. You should have seen the time Sugar got the hiccups. A goddess with the hiccups...I was pulling maple leaves out of my hair for hours."

"E-eh? W-well, I did mean sorry for knocking you down...I-I was just trying to get you guys together."

"Together?" Olive looked confused. "As in, dating? Together-together?"

"U-um...well...um...y-yes?"

Olive processed that information, then immediately broke out into laughter.

"HAHAHAHA! Him? Me? Dating? SERIOUSLY?!" The archer banged the table with one hand, laughing hysterically.

"Hey now, you're-heh-you're sc-hehe-scaring her." Rondo fought back his own urge to laugh.

"K-hehehe-kid, kid!" Olive finally calmed herself down enough to speak. "I don't like him, he doesn't like me. We're just friends, nothing more."

"E-eh? B-but..."

"If it helps," Rondo said. "you're not the first person who's tried setting us up together. That crazy gypsy lady...whatsherface, Cassandra...she 'read' our 'love lines' and said we were perfect for each other. The look on her face when we started laughing was just priceless!"

"B-but...but..."

"Sometimes people comment on us being a cute couple." Olive continued. "It's like, just because we're together doesn't mean we're together-together."

Chase gaped. Her face turned from simple surprise, to confusion, then anger, followed by defeat.

"Wh...it's...it's...GAH!" Chase slumped into her seat and put her head on the table. "It's not FAIR!" She cried.

"What's not fair?" Asked Yuuki.

"I dunno! This! Them! Everyone!" Chase raised her head in frustration. "I-I can't get a grasp on it!"

"A grasp on what?" Yuuki asked again. "I'm sorry, I'm just confused, what's not fair and what can't you get a grasp on?"

"THIS!" Chase gestured wildly. "T-THIS! This..." She lowered her voice and quietly muttered. "Love."

"What?"

"LOVE! I DON'T GET IT!" Chase exploded. "I-IT'S LIKE...it's like..."

Chase sighed.

"It's like everyone in the world is in on some big secret that I don't get, and they refuse to tell me what it is. I asked my Stellar Detectives to help me, and they refused. I asked Kinesis what love meant, he told me it's different. I asked Tear and Kyle why they weren't doing anything romantic, and they didn't tell me...and when I think I've got the hand of telling if two people are in love they attack me- AND I'm wrong about it."

Chase put her head down on the table.

"I just don't get it. No one can explain it to me. I know it's nice. I know it's fun to be in love. I know love is supposed to be the best ever emotion ever. But I just don't get it. I can't get it..."

The whole table was silent for a long while. Kinesis spoke up first.

"So...in other words..." The grey-eyed ESPer frowned in confusion. "...you want to know what love is. Is that it?"

Chase frowned. "W-well, I...sort of, I guess?"

"I can't answer that, sorry." The ESPer said quickly and rather bluntly.

Chase started to put her head down when Yuuki interrupted.

"What he means is that it's impossible to tell you exactly what love is." The warrior crossed his arms. "It's an emotion, and everyone feels it. But it's impossible to describe. It's...it's..."

"Ineffable." Yuna concluded. "The word you're looking for is 'ineffable'. It means 'incapable of being expressed in words'."

"So there's no solution." Chase said glumly.

"Well, no." Kinesis said. "There is a solution, but whatever that solution is, it's far beyond human- or Nova, or Anima- comprehension. Falling in love feels like falling in love..."

"Rather than sounding cool..." Kyle interrupted. "...Chase, it's okay not to know what something means. It's definitely okay not to know what love means." He gestured mindlessly for a bit. "I mean, hell, I don't even know what love means. And I'm in it. But I know I'm in it, so I know it's real. Does that make sense?"

Chase shook her head.

"Maybe it doesn't have to." Olive took a sip of her drink. "Maybe we're just better off not caring what it means. After all, wouldn't know exactly what love is basically make it pointless?"

The table sat in silence for a bit.

"I-I'm sorry..." Chase mumbled. "I still don't get it."

"You don't have to." Kyle said. "All you have to do is live your life as Chase, the Beast Tamer, and continue being yourself."

Chase glanced at him, and nodded slowly.

"Life is short." Said Tear. "Let's not make everything so dramatic. Now it's 8 PM and I want my triple deluxe bacon burger."

"W-wha...! You said 'deluxe' earlier!" Yuuki cried, as it was his wallet that was buying.

"And I said 'triple deluxe' now. With fries. And a milkshake. Chocolate, please."

"I could go for that." Said Kyle. "I second that order."

"Thirded." Said Olive. "But make that garlic fries."

"You're all crazy." Said Rondo. "This place is famous for its chilli dogs."

"Chilli dogs sound nice." Kinesis smiled.

"...salad for me." Said Yuna.

"We can split a chilli dog if you want, Yuna." Kinesis knit his fingers into hers. "We start from either end and we can meet in the middle."

Yuna flushed crimson. "Wha-y-y-you!"

Olive made smoochy noises and Rondo made a gagging motion. Yuuki simply blanched at what his wallet was going to be like tomorrow.

Chase smiled weakly.

"C-chilli dog for me...n-no, make it the triple deluxe bacon...a-actually, can I get both? Please?"


End file.
